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Top 10 free Windows 10 apps in the Windows Store

Microsoft’s app store - the Windows Store - is the place in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 where you can find modern apps that are designed to work both on touchscreen devices as well as traditional PC’s with a mouse and keyboard. It’s true that the Windows Store doesn’t have as many apps available as its competitors (Google’s Play Store and Apple’s App Store ) but it still manages to offer useful apps that are also of good quality. Many of these quality apps are free. If you are new to Windows 10 and you don’t know which apps to install on your new Windows 10 PC or device, check this list with the best free apps from the Windows Store :

1. Flipboard

Flipboard became one of the most popular news apps in the world. It works like a news feed aggregator but it's also very visual. The end result is something that looks a lot like a magazine. The twist is that this magazine is your own and it’s personalized with only your interests. The Flipboard app for Windows 10 looks and works great. If you are searching for a quality experience in staying up-to-date with the latest news, you should try this app first.

2. VLC for Windows Store

There are plenty of media players available for Windows and VLC has been available as a desktop app for a very long time. It’s also one of those few media players that have built a reputation of being able to play any kind of media, be it video or audio, regardless of how uncommon the format is. VLC for Windows Store is the modern version of the traditional VLC desktop app and it works great. It also has support for subtitles, which is a great feature to have in a touch-based media player.

3. Wikipedia

If you love encyclopedias, then you probably can’t live without accessing Wikipedia at least once a day. After all, with more than 20 million articles written in 280 languages, it is the largest encyclopedia in the world. The good news is that Wikipedia has its own Windows Store app , and the even better news is that it’s a high quality app, that works nicely even on devices with touch.

4. TeamViewer: Remote Control

TeamViewer is one of the best remote desktop services in the world. It lets you connect and control remotely other computers over the Internet and it offers apps for all the major operating systems. Some may argue that Microsoft’s own remote desktop tools are better, but if you want a simple to use remote desktop service that just works, no matter if the computer you connect to runs on Windows, Linux or Mac OS, then TeamViewer is one of the best alternatives. The TeamViewer: Remote ControlWindows Store app works great and is optimized for touch screens. You can use it just as easy on a Windows tablet or smartphone as you would on a desktop PC.

5. Facebook

Facebook’s official app looks and works great. It offers all the functions you need from the social network, meaning that you can post messages, photos, videos, check into places, view your News Feed and so on. Of course, you can also Like and Share things, like our Digital Citizen Facebook page. :)

6. Kindle

If you love reading books, Amazon’s Kindle app is a must have. The Kindle app acts both as a bookstore and as an ebook reader app. As a bookstore, it offers access to over a million books from the Kindle Store , some of which are also free. As an ebook reader app, Kindle can be customized to fit your reading preferences. You can change the background color, the font size, you can take notes and so on. If you want to know more about this app, we published an article about it a while ago, which you can find here: How to use the Kindle app for Windows 8.1 to read eBooks.

7. Photo Editor (by Aviary)

Everyone takes photos, and most of us also like to enhance those photos. Sometimes you need to make changes like increasing the brightness of a picture or correcting red eyes . If you want a simple Windows Store app that does all kinds of photo enhancements, with a very easy to use user interface, you should try Photo Editor from Aviary. Obviously, this app works great, especially on devices with touch.

8. iHeartRadio

If you prefer listening to radio, then you should definitely try iHeartRadio. The app lets you stream music and listen to live radio. Also, it lets you create your custom music stations, based on your musical preferences: all you have to do is choose a favorite song or artist and the radio app automatically populates your playlist.

9. OneNote

Microsoft’s OneNote is one of the best note taking tools on the market. Also, it’s available on all major computing platforms: Windows (desktop and mobile), Android, Mac and iOS devices. It’s everywhere, it’s free and it offers a whole bunch of features. You can take notes that include text, images, charts, maps, drawings, and the list goes on and on.

10. TripAdvisor

If you’re a traveler by nature and you want a good Windows Store app to help you find travel destinations, hotels, restaurants and more, you should try TripAdvisor. With it, you can view photos or read reviews about a place, book your entire trip, from flights to the hotel room and the restaurants you’re eating in. Any serious traveler, must install the TripAdvisor Hotels Flights Restaurants app for Windows 10.

Conclusion

These are our top 10 favorite apps from the Windows Store. We like them for different reasons and we think that most of them are useful to most people. They have some things in common: they work well, they look good and they’re easy to use. Before you close this article, please use the comments form below and tell us which Windows 10 apps you enjoy using and why. We’re sure others will appreciate your recommendations.

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